Healthy Child Campaign
Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) have made tremendous progress in improving children’s health insurance, currently providing coverage to over 30 million children. Yet 9.4 million children in America, almost 90 percent living in working households and a majority in two-parent families, are still uninsured. Millions more are underinsured. Chronic budget shortfalls, often confusing enrollment processes, and dramatic variation in eligibility and coverage from state to state prevent millions of currently eligible children from living healthy and realizing their full potential in school and life.
Current disparities and gaps in coverage will continue to exist until all children are guaranteed access to affordable, seamless, comprehensive health coverage regardless of where they live. Our nation and leaders in all parties must take the next logical, incremental, smart and achievable step to ensure health and mental health coverage for all children in America as a significant down payment on health coverage for all.
Because of this, the Children's Defense Fund proudly endorses the All Healthy Children Act (S. 1564/HR 1688) sponsored in the Senate by Senator Bernard Sanders' (I-VT) and in the House by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA). Unlike other health care proposals, the All Healthy Children Act guarantees the nine million uninsured children and pregnant women access to the health care they need. The All Healthy Children Act:
- Simplifies and consolidates children's health coverage under Medicaid and SCHIP into a single program that guarantees children in all 50 states and the District of Columbia all medically necessary services.
- Expands eligibility to all children with family incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level ($61,950 for a family of four).
- Guarantees coverage to children regardless of their state of residence.
- Eliminates barriers to enrollment ; applications for health care coverage would be short and simple to complete; and all states would adopt presumptive eligibility for children and pregnant women.
- Increases provider rates to make sure that children have access to needed health care professionals.
- Provides coverage to pregnant women with incomes at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. Pregnant women are eligible for all medically necessary health and mental health services until at least 60 days after the birth of the child.
Learn More About the Nine Million Uninsured Children:
